I've been sitting on this since last August, unsure what to do with it, since the story pretty well lacks substance of any kind and the pacing is kinda weird. And if you squint too much you'll find it doesn't make an awful lot of sense. But I found it again while in the process of jotting down the makings of another CU fic and figured what the heck. Maybe someone will get a kick out of it. Cheers.

"When will they be here?"

"Soon, Gisela," Tyler answered with a roll of his eyes. "Holy cow, it's been one day. Relax." He scarcely looked away from his computer.

She frowned at the back of his head. "Shut up."

Now he tossed her a dirty look, but only briefly. She kept pacing back and forth through the room.

Less than 48 hours ago, Connor had saved her life – in the biggest way he'd ever done. He'd gotten badly injured in the process, though, and he'd been in the hospital since. The doctors had said healing shouldn't be complicated, but they wanted to keep him there for a day just in case. His mother had left over an hour ago to bring him home. Meanwhile, the house was now crawling with her father's agents, although she had managed to keep most of them outside.

Finally Gisela heard the front door open. She rushed to greet them, and gasped when she saw the state her bodyguard was in. She'd known the nature of his injuries – she'd been there when he received them – but it was still startling to see him that way.

Connor was in a wheelchair, his entire left leg encased in a heavy cast. He had bruises all over, including one hell of a black eye, and burns peeked out from his right sleeve. All the same, he smiled when he saw her. "Hey, Gi," he greeted softly as his mother pushed him through the door.

"Connor," she sighed, shoulders slumping. She hated to see him so banged up on her account. Her gaze flicking up to his mother, she said, "Here, let me take him for a bit."

"Well, he's awfully tired," his mum began, but Connor shook his head, wincing slightly as he did so.

"No, mom, Gi and I have to talk," he told her, still watching the Cordoban girl's face. Gisela tried not to smile at the way he could look at her and know what she was thinking.

"Well, okay," his mother sighed. She gave up the wheelchair handles and Gisela took over, steering him into the house.

Once they reached his computer room, alone now, she parked him facing a chair and took a seat. He smiled at her again. "I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm glad you're alive," she countered. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Just doing my job."

"I'm serious!" she said. "I was terrified the other night! You saved my life, and for a little bit I was afraid you'd died doing it!"

"Aw, Gi," he teased. "I'm okay. You know I won't go out that easy."

"I don't want to lose you," Gisela said. Connor sobered a bit, caught in her gaze. He swallowed.

"You're – you're not gonna lose me, Gi," he promised.

Her hands on the arms of his wheelchair, she pulled herself out of her chair and leaned across him to kiss him soundly on the mouth. Taken by surprise, he stiffened, then, for just a moment, sank into the kiss. Finally his hands found her arms and he pulled back, pushing against her.

Staring at her, he fished for words. "What- what was that?" he managed.

She didn't move away. Looking sad somehow, she answered, "Connor… For a really terrifying minute I thought you were dead, and that scared me so bad, and I started thinking about how we're always in danger and it could be that way for a long time and if I could lose you at any moment, then… then I have to take what I can while I've got it, right? You're… you're everything. You're the one I trust, you're the fireworks, you're the one who helps me get through the day alive. Not just the bodyguard stuff, but the friend stuff. You can save me from Azul every month but you save me from everyday life all the time. I'd never get through anything without you, and I'm totally in love with you."

Connor blinked. Stared for a moment. Then, "Gi, I… I can't…" He pushed his wheelchair backwards, away from her, and she pulled her hands away from the arm rests. He looked up at her sad face as she straightened. "It's… it's my job to protect you. Day in, day out, all the time. I can't… I mean, you, I- I like you, Gi, I really do, but my job-"

She stepped closer to him again. "How does this interfere with your job? At all?"

He fishmouthed for a moment, looking around the room as if he could find an answer on the walls. "No, I just…"

Gisela looked down at the floor. "You just said you like me. Do you want this?"

Gaping at her, Connor gripped the wheels of his chair and rolled himself back further. "I d- I do want you, I mean this, but I don't- Gi-"

She stepped toward him again, and he tried to escape but struck a desk. He looked around but saw no escape before she was in front of him and leaning in and kissing him again.

He tried to resist, but it took only a moment for him to melt into her. He reached up and cupped her face, trapping her hair against her cheeks, his right hand more gingerly than the left. After a long moment, she pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. "Connor, I-"

"I love you," he sighed blissfully, surprising her. Her stomach leapt and danced. That was what she'd meant to say, but he'd beaten her to it.

"-love you too," she answered, smiling.

She looked down at him for a moment, then cautiously took a seat in his lap, careful not to put weight on his injured arm or leg, though he wouldn't have complained if she did. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she turned and stole another kiss from him, making him grin. He kissed her again, and again, soon deepening the kiss and wrapping his good arm around her, his hand resting on her waist. Her own hand skimmed up his chest and rested on his shoulder.